WINDSOR - Windsor officials say a pile of goat manure spontaneously caught fire, spreading stench and wrinkling noses through the Vermont town but causing no damage.

Town Manager Tom Marsh says the odor that followed the fire evoked "a damp kind of burning leaves or brush fire."

About 120 cubic yards of goat manure spontaneously combusted, according to the Valley News, at the 800-goat Oak Knoll Dairy early Wednesday morning, erupting into small flames and spreading an odor that both perplexed and amused people.

Farm owner George Redick says the manure would typically have been spread around the farm earlier in the year, but the rainy season and other factors kept that from happening.

He says he used to think spontaneous combustion was a myth, but now he's a believer.